Force-controlling devices are used for example in vehicle suspension systems. Vehicle suspension systems typically employ passive suspension systems, such as a spring in parallel with a damper. A problem with such systems however is that the optimization of the various performance requirements is limited due to the large masses required in practice to exploit inertial forces. The device of U.S. Pat. No. 7,316,303 addresses this problem by providing a component for building a suspension system with any desired mechanical impedance, but with the overall mass of the suspension system being kept small.
The device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,316,303 typically consists of a linear to rotary transducer, connected to a flywheel. Several variations of this device have been proposed, some including for example the use of ball screws or racks and pinions. One disadvantage of these is that there is a considerable number of moving parts.
The present invention therefore seeks to provide a simplified device wherein the number of moving parts is greatly reduced.